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NBA commissioner David Stern makes a farewell stop in New Orleans: notebook

David Stern Pelicans vs Lakers

Mayor Mitch Landrieu and NBA Commissioner David Stern take their seats at the beginning of a press conference before Friday's game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Los Angeles Lakers at New Orleans Arena Nov. 8, 2013. (Photo by Dinah Rogers, NOLA.com / The Times-Picayune)

As he makes his farewell tour around NBA cities during his
final months as NBA commissioner, David Stern stopped in New Orleans on Friday.

He saw quite a different franchise than the one he was once
the owner representative of when the league owned the New Orleans franchise
from December of 2010 to the sale to Tom Benson in April 2012.

Speaking to the media before the New Orleans Pelicans beat
the Los Angeles Lakers 96-85 at the New Orleans Arena, Stern said he was
impressed with what the franchise has accomplished under Benson.

This offseason the Pelicans opened up a brand new 50,000
square foot practice facility in Metairie and the New Orleans Arena recently
wrapped up the first phase of a $50 million renovation.

"It is frankly off the charts," Stern said of the health of
the Pelicans franchise. "You walk around this building, Mickey (Loomis, the
vice president of Saints/Pelicans) took me around the training facility, it's
unbelievable. I see it compare to other facilities now and I can't help but to
think about what the facilities were like when I became commissioner."

With his pending the retirement, Stern likely will have
plenty of time to reflect back on how far the NBA has come since he became the
commissioner in 1984.

When he retires in February, he'll turn the reins over to
his hand-picked successor, Adam Silver, the current deputy commissioner.

But on Friday a group of state and local politicians and
Pelicans officials spent much of the pregame press conference praising Stern
for helping steer the NBA to New Orleans in 2002 and keep the team in the city
following Hurricane Katrina and an ownership change.

During the break after the first quarter, Stern was
presented with a No. 30 Pelicans jersey with his name stitch on the back, for
his 30-years as commissioner.

"He showed great commitment first in bringing us an NBA
franchise and then keeping this franchise here," Gov. Bobby Jindal said. "The
NBA did not have to step in and buy that team. And as (Mayor) Mitch (Landrieu)
will tell you, he certainly held us accountable, whether it was in terms of
ticket sales or whether it was the process to show that the fans could and
would support an NBA team. But I want to publically thank him on behalf of the
people of New Orleans and Louisiana. I thank Commissioner Stern for working so
hard to make sure that we would get and keep a franchise here."

Stern said he is happy to see it all working out.

"I really am and was the instrument of a league that felt
the pain of New Orleans after Katrina," Stern said. "And we were determined to
do our best to do everything possible to make sure we could be a part of what
we knew could be growth and really the redemption of New Orleans. And we did
it. But of course we couldn't do it without the mayor, without the governor and
of course Tom and Gayle and Rita Benson Leblanc."

THAT'S A
FIRST: Despite
struggling from the field, Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday recorded his first
double-double of the season.

Holiday,
who had 20 double-doubles last season when he made the Eastern Conference
All-Star team as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, scored 13 points on
5-of-15 shooting and had 13 assists.

UP NEXT: The
Pelicans begin a three-game road trip when they play at the Phoenix Suns on
Sunday. The Suns beat the Pelicans 104-98 on Tuesday.

After
playing at the Suns, the Pelicans travel to play the Lakers on Tuesday, then at
Utah on Wednesday.